Peeling Back the History of Jeju
By Andrei Lankov
For centuries, Jeju Island, the ``Korean Hawaii'' was associated not with luxurious resorts and honeymooning couples, but with something different ― poverty and remoteness.
Indeed, stormy seas made regular trade with Korea proper difficult, and the population of the large island had to survive on its own resources.
The poor soil of the island made agriculture difficult, and for centuries its population had to look to additional sources of income or, rather, calories.
Men went fishing while women dived for abalone and seaweed (the famous female divers, known as ``haenyeo'' have long been a part of Jeju legend). In later eras, men often migrated to Korea and Japan.
And then things changed, somewhat of a sudden. The long suffering land did not become rich overnight, but its fortunes began to improve fast. This small-scale economic miracle was brought about by two new factors: mandarins and tourists.
Indeed, the economy of Jeju relies heavily on mandarins, a sweet-sour citrus fruit related to but different from the orange. In the last few decades it
Dec 22, 2009
